Two important and sometimes conflicting considerations in designing hulls for boats intended to be used at high speeds are water planing performance and stability. Higher planing performance usually can be achieved by minimizing the planing or wetted surface area of the hull since this surface area creates "drag", which tends to reduce the speed of the boat. On the other hand, boat hulls with reduced planing surface areas are often unstable and very difficult to handle, especially at high speeds and in rough waters.
One form of measurement used in designing hulls is called "deadrise" which represents the upward angle at which the bottom surface of the hull extends relative to a completely horizontal plane extending through the bottom of the boat. A hull with a steep deadrise has more planing surface area and, thus, more drag than a hull with less deadrise. Accordingly, a hull with a steep deadrise tends to be easier to handle, but requires more power, than a boat with less deadrise.
The most popular boat hull designs are "vee hulls", which have generally triangular cross sections, and "catamaran hulls" or "cat hulls", which comprise a pair of bottom hulls that are interconnected by a bridging structure. Each bottom hull of a catamaran hull has a flat bottom that extends at a downward incline relative to the other hull. The deadrise of vee hulls is usually in the range of 20 to 25 degrees and the deadrise of catamaran hulls is usually in the range of 12 to 15 degrees. Accordingly, boats having vee hulls tend to have lower speed performance but are easier to handle at high speeds than boats having catamaran hulls.
Vee hulls and catamaran hulls usually are constructed with pairs of laterally-extending "strikes" or "chines" which provide planing surfaces on which the hulls plane or ride when the boat achieves a certain speed. The strikes are intended to reduce the planing surface of the hull, which enhances the speed performance of the hull.
At the same time, however, the strikes reduce the planing stance of the hull, which makes the boats less manageable, especially in rough waters. Additionally, vee hulls often experience "chine walking", which occurs when the boat rocks back and forth on its strikes as a result of the reduced planing surface area provided by the strikes.
Catamaran hulls, on the other hand, are less likely to experience chine walking because they have a wider planing stance than vee hulls since there are two hulls. Moreover, since catamaran hulls have less deadrise than vee hulls, catamaran hulls usually are able to achieve higher speeds at relatively low power.
At the same time, however, the catamarans can be difficult to handle in rough waters because of the deadrise. Catamarans also often experience "stuffing" in rough waters which is when the bow of the hull digs into the water during travel. Stuffing is a dangerous condition that can cause the boat to capsize.
What is needed is a hull for a boat that makes the boat more manageable at high speeds than the prior art hulls. Such a hull should have a reduced planing surface and also a wide planing stance to reduce the possibility of chine walk and enhance the handling of the boat. Such a hull should also have a steeper deadrise than that of conventional vee hulls and catamaran hulls. The present invention meets these desires.